REVIEWS ARCHIVE - C |
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CAGE "Darker Than Black" (Massacre Records - provided by Nordic Metal) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Cage are back with their 3rd album since their debut release "Unveiled" ever since then Cage has been praised in various medias with their new fresh approach to the Metal scene. This album is no exception they dare to mix different styles into their own music, here to mentioned veins of Death, Progressive and True Metal. I don't know the last time I was amazed by a Power Metal band, but Cage has put an end to doubt. Sean Peck (singer) knows how to fill out all the missing melodies in the music with his wide spectrum, even though he sometimes reminds me of Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) which can be annoying in few occasions. If the new standard in Power Metal should reach the same high level as the song "Eyes Of Obsidian" there is a long way for most of the bands within this genre, that particular songs demonstrates the high level of Cage's song writing. To hear the talented gifts of Sean Peck the song "Wings Of Destruction" his voice reminds me of Darren Warden (Nevermore) this is outstanding I even thought that he was guest appearance on this album. This album has lifted all the prejudice I had for Power Metal; this album is definitely a must for all Power Metal fans.
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Benjamin
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CANDLEMASS
"Candlemass" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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The masters of doom metal are back! I've always found Candlemass to be the best doom-metal band in the world, and even if they made 2 horrible albums ("Dactylis Gloomerata" and "From The 13th Sun"), nothing will ever change that !!! I mean - seriously - this is the band that made the (un)godly "Nightfall", "Ancient Dreams", "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Tales Of Creation" and "Chapter VI". This is the band that made my most darkened dreams of youth come alive. So - after 15 years (yup - 15 loooooong years!), Messiah Marcolin is back in the band, and with his amazing voice in front, the Swedish five-some delivers this years' best album. Opening up with the quite fast-paced (hehe, at least for a doom metal band) "Black Dwarf", Candlemass immediately shows that they are back for real, and not just another of those bands reuniting just for the sake of making some quick cash, without having any real song writing skills left. Yup - Leif Edling still knows how to write a classic Candlemass tune, and the whole album here is packed with exactly that. I could go on for hours about how the songs are kicking my ass, but I'd rather just say that this album takes off where the Mark2 Candlemass (Leif, Messiah, Mappe, Lasse and Janne) left us after "Tales Of Creation", as this album is the perfect follow-up to TOC. Doooooooooooooooooooom !!!
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Claus
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CANS "Beyond The Gates (Noise / Sanctuary - provided by Target Distribution) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Joachim Cans - the lead vocalist in Hammerfall (and most lately in the resurrection of US power metal legend Warlord), is now ready to release his first ever solo album, and what a pleasant surprise this is. I must admit that I had no hopes for Joachim being able to come up with something of this high standard, but "Beyond The Gates" is truly a great disc. It is what I'd like to call "timeless heavy metal" - some of it bordering at melodic/classic hard rock, others rooted in the power metal scene and still some leaning more towards semi-progressive metal. Joachim didn't write the songs by himself, instead he chose to have some of his favorite musicians come up with material for him to work with, and among those you'll find David Chastain (Chastain), Jeff Waters (Annihilator), Ronnie Milianowitz (Sinergy), Mat Sinner (Primal Fear) and Mike Chlasciak (Halford). And this might be the only problem with the disc - it's not 100% homogenous all the way through - some of the material is better than other. Anyway, I've never heard Joachim sounding better - his voice is in top-shape and most of the material fits him perfectly. This is a really good disc, and I'm sure it's going to surprise a lot of people - especially those who doubted that Joachim was capable of doing much of interest without the Hammerfall crew around him.
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Claus
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CARPATHIAN FOREST
"Fuck You All" (Seasons Of Mist - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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I have never really cared for Carpathian Forest, but with an intriguing title such as "Fuck You All" I was a bit curious as if the black metallers have gotten completely mad. And no… they still play black metal with a lot of mid tempo pieces and tempo changes, which actually should sound good to me, but they just bores me after a while. "Fuck You All" is also an album that bores me, but I do understand why they have such a cult following in certain circles. Their compositions are daring and challenging. A thing that surprises me is the vocals… Maybe it is just me who never noticed before, but here they sound like a true demon. Never have I heard one sing with such an evil shriek besides Dani Filth from Cradle of Filth. "Fuck You All" is probably the best thing I have heard from this band, and it is quality black metal, but still I cannot give it more than a mediocre character because they fail once again in keeping me interested in the album for more than 10 minutes despite some nice things here and there.
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Mads
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CARPTREE
"Man Made Machine" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I never heard of Carptree before, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I asked a friend of mine who is really into this prog-rock stuff, and he told me that the first albums by this band wasn't good at all, so I guess that means I'm lucky for not having heard these before. "Man Made Machine" is therefore my initiation to the dark world of Swedish duo Flinck and Westholm (backed up by the No Future Orchestra). What I'm listening to sounds to me like a strange, yet quite interesting mixture of Marillion, Pink Floyd, Kronos Quartet and lots of symphonic orchestrations. It's very dark and moody, and would probably serve perfectly to some kind of obscure film noir. And that's it - it's all dark and ends up putting me in a bad mood, so I can safely say, that even though this has some interesting elements, it's not an album I'll find myself going back to in the future, unless I one day wake up so damn happy that I need something to take away that silly smile on my face.
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Claus
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CATHEDRAL
"The Garden Of Unearthly Delights" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Did Cathedral ever sound this much like Celtic Frost? I haven't listened to Cathedral in years - I think the last album I heard with them was 'Supernatural Birth Machine' and that's 8-9 years ago. And I didn't even like that one as much as I did their first album "Forest Of Equilibrium" (which was an extremely cool very-slow-paced doom metal album). At some point in their career they went from pure doom to some kind of groovy hippie metal band, and totally lost me there. By now they've for many young bands become the epithome of stoner rock, and there's been a million "copy-cats" coming out over the past five years - again, a genre I don't really care for. But, with "The Garden of Unearthly Delights", Cathedral has now moved on (or back?) to what I much rather would spend my time on listening to: doom metal with an edge ;-) Simply put, this is music balancing somewhere between the early albums by Black Sabbath and a lot of old-school Celtic Frost sound. Right, this isn't death or black metal, and the vocals are definitely easier on the ear than what Tom G.F. Warrior in Celtic Frost would deliver, but there's so much CF over the production of this album, that I can't help being reminded of that band constantly when listening to "The Garden ...". A good album, and luckily not a typical "stoner-rock" disc. Pheeww ...
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Claus
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CATLEY, BOB
"Spirit Of Man" (Frontiers Records - provided by Atenzia) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Magnum frontman Bob Catley hereby releases his solo album number 5 (if I'm counting right) … and it starts off with a real blast, due to the high-energy rocker "Heart Of Stone". Compared to the first 3 solo discs, ("The Tower", "Legends" and "Middle Earth") this album immediately comes across as more of a guitar-based disc. I must admit I have "When Empires Burn" (his latest disc) but I haven't listened to it in a long while to remember how guitar-driven it actually was - but as far as I can remember it also had a more metal edge than the first 3 discs. So with that in mind, "Spirit Of Man" is what can be characterized as a real solo album, where a member of some band (in this case, Bob's the singer of pompous hard rock act Magnum) creates something on his own, that does NOT sound like his main-band. And good for him, as "Spirit Of Man" really has a lot of great rocking tunes, that would be a bit too far on the heavy side for Magnum, but nevertheless songs that deserves to be heard. This is classic hard rock, with a lot of drive and attitude, not too far from Black Sabbath's "Eternal Idol" or "Headless Cross", or perhaps Ten's "The Robe". Really good stuff, and as always the voice of Bob Catley is a pleasure to listen to. My only negative point on this disc would be, that I really miss those slight celtic touches that made "The Tower" and especially "Middle Earth" so amazing. Well, you can't have it all, and (besides this little point) I'll have to say that with "Spirit Of Man" we do get one of the better hard rock albums of the year.
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Claus
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CAUSTIC LYE
"That That Is Is" (Fervid Recordings - provided by Fervid Recordings) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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"That That Is Is" is the debut album from newcomers Caustic Lye, and is actually also the first and - so far - only release on Fervid Recordings. I am sorry to say this, but this is not exactly a great album to start up on for both parts, because Caustic Lye is a band I would define as boring metal. This New Mexican band is not without talent technically. It is obvious to hear they all are very skilful with their instruments. The compositions on the other hand are absolutely worthless. But the worst things of all are the vocals. Caustic Lye makes use of clean vocals and growls, as is the trend today. That is okay, and many bands use this to quite well, but Caustic Lye is not one of those. Both parts are horrible to listen to as it just sounds so wrong, and that is especially underlining the clean vocal parts, which - unfortunately - is the more dominant of the two. The music that Caustic Lye plays is somewhat hard to describe. There is a bit of wannabe Meshuggah here and there, a bit of Burst, Into Eternity and some progressive rock in the compositions. And there is teenage rock band vibe in it, like Good Charlotte. The outcome however is not good. Not only because of the boring compositions, but also because of an production that doesn't do the music honour. Let me explain this; the production is good, but it doesn't suit this music as it doesn't have any aggressiveness in it. No crunch, no depth. It sounds as if they just focused on making every instrument clear, which has succeeded, and which I like. But you just miss that "thickness in the sound". This band has a lot of potential due to their musical skills (not as singers mind you), but there is a long way to go before I would consider them to be a good band.
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Mads
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CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO "CG3 + 2" (Inside Out/SPV - provided by Nordic Metal) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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There's no question that CG3 are great with their instruments! With a mixture of classic, blues, jazz, rock, oriental and a number of other musical genres, CG3 delivers a progressive piece of work on the acoustic rock/metal scene, doing so with a little help from bassist Tony Levin (PETER GABRIEL, KING CRIMSON) and drummer Pat Mastelotto (KING CRIMSON). But when that is said, I have to ad my own opinion on CG3's first studio album in four years. I don't understand it! I just can't figure out what the idea behind the music is. Sure there are some great, even fantastic, elements that would fit perfectly as solo's, middle pieces or bridges in progressive metal songs like the kind my beloved DREAM THEATER is so approved off, but it is NOT a good idea to base an entire album with no vocals or other forms of variation in the music at all, like for instance underlying or solo keyboards, on this. It quickly tends to get relatively boring and humdrum.
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Martin J
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CARL VERHEYEN BAND "Six" (Provogue Records - provided by MNW) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Supertramp Guitarist Carl Verheyen together with Cliff Hugo (Supertramp) and Steve Distanislao (David Crosby Band) forms this band. Blues rock with a touch of jazz and fusion. A very nice CD , to use as background music. Not much here for metal heads, but if you like the bluesy parts that most American hard rock bands comes up once in a while, then there is a couple is catchy songs here.
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Erik
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CARNIVORA
"Judas" (FaceFront Records - provided by VME) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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Carnivora is Norwegian band trying to sound like Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society, which means heavy guitar riffs, lots of raw attitude and some nice melodies. Well, if this is what the band really intends to do, then fine - but the originality factor equals zero, and the band just can't write half as good songs as Zakk Wylde. The drums are played by Hellhammer (Arcturus, Mayhem etc), and we all know how good he is. The vocals, courtesy of Mike Eriksen from Circus Maximus are really good as well. But that's where it ends - there's not one single thing else on this disc that tells me to pick it out again and listen to it. Sorry, but this just is boring.
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Claus
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CASUS BELLI
"In The Name Of The Rose" (LMP / SPV - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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German/Greek power metal, (with a singer that was supposed to sing in Judas Priest, had The Ripper not showed up??? I think NOT!) On top of this, a guitarist, who's considered the new Gus G. by the Greek??? I think not. He's good, but from there to making him an icon such as GG is totally out of place, and it is very irritating that these new biographies of up-coming bands are pulling out so many wrong facts about the bands - just to have something interesting to write, in stead of letting the music speak for itself. Writing big lies doesn't make anything more true. Casus Belli reminds me of Manowar, mixed with a little Judas Priest and some of the material even reminds me of the old Danish metal band Maltese Falcon. But to name this a perfect mixture of Power, melodic and progressive metal already has one mistake: There's no prog metal on the album! This is dark power metal (where the light part is bands like Gamma Ray and Hammerfall), with a lead singer that sounds like he has been smoking too much weed and who sounds very strained on the whole album. It's not bad, and the band has actually cared to compose riffs, unlike so many bands today, but it never really sucks your ears into the loudspeakers. The drummer is extremely monotone, going on with his fast bass drums and (mostly) off beat snare drum. This music is ready to be developed into something far more intriguing and interesting for the future, but that would demand a new drummer and a full member keyboarder. I'm sure the Germans will love this one though.
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Lars
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CELLADOR
"Enter Deception" (Metal Blade - provided by Target) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Q: How come Dragonforce plays faster than the speed of light? A: Because they can! Q: Why do the Hammerfall guys write clichee filled songs with memorable hooks? A: Because they can! So why on earth would a mediocre band from the US try to copy the hyper-fast-paced sonic assault of Dragonforce when they can't match the playing skills of the UK-dudes? And why on earth would they try to steal with arms and legs the songwriting of Sweden's metal-mongers in Hammerfall, when they don't have what it takes to make the songwriting flow? I have absolutely no clue, but unfortunately there are lots of people out there who (also without clues at all) will go out and buy this crap, because someone told them it's the next big thing in metal. Please, don't invest your money in this - go and support some bands who actually deserves it instead.
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Claus
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CELTIC FROST
"Monotheist" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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16 years have gone since Vanity/Nemesis saw the light of day, and now one of the most important bands on the metal scene has made their comeback with Monotheist. And what joyful return this is. Monotheist is simply breathtaking from the very second the first much distorted riffs starts and then the trademark "ugh" from T.G. Warrior. This time around, bassist Eric Ain has been a lot more involved in the song writing process, which you can certainly hear, because the sound on Monotheist is much darker, more atmospheric, more evil but just as progressive and unique as masterpieces like Into the Pandemonium and - my personal favourite: To Mega Therion. The thing about Monotheist is that it is hard to digest at first, but it simply grows on you for each and every track, and especially "A Dying God Coming into Human Flesh" is captivating and gives you the chills. Other tracks worth a big mention is "Temple of Depression" which is one of the few up-tempo tracks on an otherwise very slow album, "Obscured", which among other tracks on the Monotheist introduces us to female gothic vocals. And also the "Triptych" trilogy which is the weirdest thing Celtic Frost has ever done. These tracks are evil (demonic vocals), and are so slow and distorted that you begin to draw references to drone metal acts such as Sunn O))), and the music is actually really scary. The first time I heard these three tracks I actually got scared, and I am a big horror fan and am frightened that easily. I guess this just describes what huge impact Celtic Frosts music has on you. I could actually talk forever about how great Monotheist is, but I guess that would be boring and thus I had to shorten in down to this. One thing stands clear though; Celtic Frost is back with Monotheist and they stand as a very certain contender for album of the year for me.
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Mads
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CHANGE OF HEART
“Truth Or Dare” (Escape Music – provided by Atenzia) - 2 out of 5 points – |
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British band Change Of Heart seem to live in a little time-bubble of their own; back in a time when hard rock dinosaurs and pompous melodies ruled the world. Newsflash: man can actually stand up straight by now, and most of us are able to walk! In all fairness, this kind of mellow hard rock that leans strongly towards the early 80’s Bon Jovi/Def Leppard style isn’t all bad, especially not when played by musicians who can play and are fronted by a singer with good delivery. But still – the song writing within this style has to be really strong to make me want to sit through an entire album of 80’s hard rock here in 2005, and unfortunately Change Of Heart lacks in that department.
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Claus
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CHIMAIRA
"Chimaira" (Roadrunner - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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I know I shouldn't like this - it's a style of music that I have big problems enjoying … its "nu-metal" or "metal-core" (whichever expression you prefer, I don't care)! But, there's just something about this disc that you can't help but like. The power, the aggressiveness, the brutal in-your-face attitude and of course the sheer musicality at hand. These guys are really good at what they do, no doubt about that. They write brilliant songs, that aren't "instant", but that take some time and repeated listens to really appreciate, and the moment you get the hang of them, you really like what you hear. Seriously, give the song "Salvation" a couple of spins, and you'll know what I mean - it's heavy, it's powerful and more over it just clinches to your brain after awhile. Drums are almost death metal (no wonder, since it's the ex-Dying Fetus/Suffocation drummer here), guitar solos are very cool (a bit Metallica-like actually), there are occasional samples and keyboards here-and-there (but nothing that irritates the metal listener) and the vocals are so upfront and filled with attitude that you can't help appreciate 'em. There's a certain old-school thrash metal vibe to the disc, and perhaps that's what helps me appreciate it … or perhaps I'm just really beginning to buy into the whole nu-metal hype? Naah … this album is just a really strong one, and it should be applauded for that.
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Claus
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CHINCHILLA "Madtropolis" (Metal Blade - provided by Nordic Metal) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Chinchilla has now released their 4th full-length album "Madtropolis" since 1997. Even though I haven't heard their previous album "The Last Millennium" it sounds like Chinchilla has become more serious in their music writing compared to the "Madness" album, which was to be described as classical German Power Metal. The "Madtropolis" album takes you more around in the veins of Heavy Metal, but yet again the numbers on this album are all too easy to predict! One thing that hasn't changed is the excellent voice of Thomas Laasch who fills out the music to perfection but that is not enough to lift the whole experience with this album. This is definitely not a poor album it is just not good enough compares to other bands in the same genre.
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Benjamin
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CHROMA KEY
"Graveyard Mountain Home" (Inside Out - provided by Target Distribution) - ½ out of 5 points - |
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Come on ... all you "metal journalists" worldwide, who've been rating this album as a superb disc and giving it incredible high gradings ... come on! You can't be serious! This isn't METAL! This isn't even rock! This has nothing to do with progressive music! This has no relevance in your magazines or webzines, except for the fact that the guy behind this piece of crap is none other than Kevin Moore (one-time Dream Theater keyboardist). Come on - admit it, you're only pretending to like this album because of the involvement of aforementioned Mr. Moore! Hey, I actually loved the first Chroma Key disc and the second one wasn't half bad either. But come on - this "Graveyard Mountain Home" doesn't deserve to be praised by all of you - it deserves to find it's final resting place on some graveyard far up in the mountains (I guess that's why KM gave it this title, huh?). Musically this at best borders some low priced soundtrack for a second rate middle eastern movie - and I'm even being nice with that comment. Naah, come on guys ... you aren't serious at all, are you?
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Claus
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CHROME DIVISION
"Doomsday Rock 'N Roll" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Hellacopters or new bands such as VolBeat or Carburators … I must admit that besides VolBeat this style haven't appealed to me at all. Chrome Division is a Norwegian side project for a few high/low-profile musicians, must noteably Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir) and Eddie Guz (Carburators), a band musically rooted somewhere between Motorhead, Hellacopters, Iron Maiden and AC/DC. It's not for me, but I am able to appreciate the energy and rawness of this disc - if this is your thing, then by all means go for it …
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Claus
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CIRCLE II CIRCLE "Circle II Circle" (AFM Records - provided by Nordic Metal) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Zak Stevens is back! The man with the fantastic power metal voice on Savatage's "Edge Of Thorns", "Handful Of Rain", "Dead Winter Dead" and "Wake Of Magellan" chose to leave the music scene behind 4 years ago, but has now returned with his solo project / band Circle To Circle, and oh my, this is good stuff. Classic Savatage material, which won't surprise anyone, seeing that the songs have been composed by Zak alongside 'tage men Jon Olivia and Chris Caffery. There are some really fantastic material on display here, such as "Out of Reach", "Watching In Silence" and "Face To Face", and absolutely no fillers. I could go on and on about how good this CD is, and if it wasn't for the fact that I'd rather see Zak rejoining Savatage than doing CIIC, I'd gladly give this CD a 4½ out of 5 point score … for now, here's to hoping on a reunion.
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Claus
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CIRCULUS
"Clocks Are Like People" (Rise Above Records / PHD - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Now what's up with metal labels finding it so interesting to all of a sudden sign "medieval-folk" bands? In the same month we get Qntal (AFM Records) and Circulus (Rise Above Records) …. both releases far removed from the metal styles we're used to. Where Qntal just bored the hell out of me with their classic-based medieval music, Circulus at least have some relevance due to their inspirations taken not only from 1300-period folk music, but also from 70's prog-rock, not too far removed from Fairport Convention, Focus, Jethro Tull and the likes. You'll find instruments like the flute and the Moog synthezier as the main instruments here, that along with a nice (almost phychedelic driven) drum beat leads the songs on their way. All depending on the response "Clocks Are like People" will be getting in the upcoming months, you could by chance stumble into Circulus at your local old-english-type-marketsquare, but you might also find them hanging around the big venues where all the "in"-people go. Apparently they are the hot darlings of the UK media right now, and with the right push who knows where they could go…
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Claus
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CLAWFINGER
"Hate Yourself With Style" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Clawfinger sounds almost as they have always done. Boring. The sound production of the album is the most interesting part. That says a lot about a band that has been here for 15+ years or so. I have absolutely no idea why Clawfinger would suddenly make a comeback album? They should have stayed dead and buried. Hmmm…I'm thinking here and I can't come up with one positive note about this album. Old school Swedish hiphop metal is just not cool in 2005/2006.
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Lars
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CLOVEN HOOF
"Eye Of The Sun" (Escape Music - provided by Zink) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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I remember this band from my early teen years and damn, is that a long time ago! They released 3 albums in the late 80'ies and split up, but out of nowhere the band has reformed and done a really decent album. Eye Of The Sun is a mixture of NWOBHM and updated power metal, with a very strong vocal performance by Matt Moreton - he sounds like a lighter version of Paramore Mccarthy from Warrior. This album is composed around interesting guitar riffs that keep on making you want to hear more, and Cloven Hoof never fall into the trap of letting go on the thrust pedal. Everything is served right in your face with energy and musical skills that a lot of young bands today could learn from. I can't do anything else than strongly urge you to give this album a listen if you are a power metal or classic metal lover.
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Lars
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COLDSEED
"Completion Marks the Tragedy" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Coldseed is another interesting consolidation on the Metal market. The band consists of well-established names such as: Thorsten Praest (Blind Guardian), Oli Holzwarth (Sieges Even), Björn Strid (Soilwork), Thomen Stauch (Savage Circus, former Blind Guardian), Mi Schüren (live keyboards for Blind Guardian) and a yet unknown Gonzalo López. The music is crossover metal mixed with melodic tunes, and a slight tendency to industrial. This is a hard album to judge, since there are so many different elements and no real comparison to lean against. A track such as "Democracy Lesson" is a nice tune with really ear catchy elements. A track such as "Nothing But A Loser" is an annoying industrial wanna be metal meets rock song. I guess you'll have to get used to the fact, that there is nothing new to create; or perhaps this is the new tendency amongst the well respected musicians?? This can neither get my thumbs up or down, but I'll try to be as objective as possible in the grading of this album.
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Benjamin
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CONFESSOR
“Unraveled” (Season Of Mist – provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points – |
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It’s funny how some of the cult-acts of our yesterdays seem to reunite these days. Confessor released the awesome “Condemned” back in 1991 (really – it’s 14 years ago!), but I can safely say that although that was a brilliant album, it sure didn’t sell well enough to create a buzz and a demand for the band to get together now. Anyway, they are here now, and it seems as if they are trying their best to get a foot in the door again. Where “Condemned” suffered from bad production, “Unraveled” has got that issue covered totally, as it really sounds powerful and up-to-date. But, where “Condemned” won me over with it’s wonderful mix of insanity and genius / control and ragnarok, “Unraveled” seems way too polished and thought out. Over the years, when trying to describe “Condemned” to people, I’ve always said that it was doom metal with a hysterical high-pitch vocalist and a drummer that sounded like he was trying out for the next Watchtower album. “Unraveled” on the other hand, seems much more like a doom band settling for a semi-progressive approach and a singer who has a nice mid-range and a more controlled drummer. Hmmm … strange change in attitude, huh? Overall though, it’s evident that this IS the same band, as the songwriting isn’t as different as I make it out to be. I guess I just wanted the band to let loose a bit more and find some of the old insanity again.
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Claus
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CONSORTIUM PROJECT III "Terra Incognita - The Undiscovered World" (Century Media - provided by Target Distribution) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Ian Parry is back with his project (CONSORTIUM PROJECT III). This is as mentioned the 3rd of it's kind, but that is not all it is also the best project album that he have done do far. And by that I mean strictly musically - there is no doubt that this album has a lot of energy compared to the PROJECT II album. As the previous album this is also a conceptual album, but this time the concept is about when the nature strikes back, after men have destroyed it with the global warming, and the depletion of the Ozone. This has forced the planet habitants to seek refuge, and the rest of the story... Well guess you'll have to buy the album to find out;o) Back to the music, there is no doubt as I have mentioned earlier that this is his best album so far, and I believe it has something to do with the more progressive elements that this album concedes. A lot of great break and rhythms that is almost impossible to count shows that this project is one step further compared to the PROJECT II. The line up for this album is: Ian Parry (Vocals), Robert Finan & Jan Bijlsma (Bass), Joshua Dutrieux known from "ELEGY" (Piano & Keyboards), Stephan Lilll known from "VANDEN PLAS" (Guitars) and Casey Grillo better known from "KAMELOT" (Drums). This line up seems to be the completion for Mr. Parry. The only thing missing is that Ian Parry gives some more space to some other singers in order for this album to be complete! Why? No matter what Ian Parry has a tendency of becoming very, very annoying through a whole album, this of course is a shame when I think of how great the music is on this record. The first 4 tracks a great without any doubt, but 5 more seems to last forever when he sings, no matter what I do believe that you'll have to be a hardcore Ian Parry fan to enjoy his voice for more then 4-5 songs. But please do not be frighthend because of this, this album is without any doubt the best of the PROJECT albums, so if you're a fan there shouldn't be any hesitation at all! For you the rest see if you can download a track from CENTURY MEDIA and find out whether you like his voice or not.
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Benjamin
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CONTRADICTION
"The Warchitect" (Armageddon Music - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Slayer, Sodom, Slayer and Sodom minus the special twist and punch that made these 2 bands so great in the 80'ies. Contradiction is from Germany and has been around for many years (debut'ed in '93), but I can't see what they bring into the thrash scene that hasn't already been done. I don't mean to say that everything has to be innovative and trend setting, but what the band offers on "The Warchitect" is not diverse enough to get into high characters. The guttural screaming of Oliver Lux becomes innerving in the long run and as such, the album has far too many songs/playing time. It's a bit sad as the band is playing tight and the music is really not bad. Anyway, try to listen to this if you like thrash in aggressive form.
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Lars
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CONTRIVE
"The Meaning Unseen" (Self-financed - provided by Contrive) -1 out of 5 points - |
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Australian, Heavy/Death Metal hmm, I do not know what to say other than I know Mortification, whom were from Aussie land. I think that it is amazing that the have had a well known producer as Fredrik Nordstrom to mix this album, this clearly shows that this band has a will to get somewhere. But sorry to be this harsh, this isn't good enough for the European market, there just doesn't seem to be any flow in the music in some sense. Actually I have heard garage bands done just a good job as these guys! Come on, save your money next time and spend them wisely in some lessons with your instruments.
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Benjamin
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CORNERSTONE "Once Upon Out Yesterdays" (Massacre Records - provided by VME) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Any album that opens with such a strong song as "Welcome To Forever", have got to be one heck of a disc ... that was my first thought, when I began listening to this, the third Cornerstone album. Unfortunately the second song, "When The Hammer Falls", is the most boring hard rock tune this band have ever done, and it immediately pulled my expectations for the rest of the disc down to a zero. Luckily this song was a "one-off", and after just a couple of more songs, I was convinced that the rest of the album held the high standard set forth in the opening tune. This is classic hard rock with a somewhat metallic edge to it - somewhere between Rainbow and Masterplan I'd say - performed by some really experienced musicians (Royal Hunt, Rainbow, Malmsteen, Wuthering Heights, Mike Tramp and more can be added on their credits-list). Besides the misplaced "When The Hammer Falls" this album is all about wonderful hard rock songs, such as "Hour Of Doom", "Some Have Dreams", "End Of The World", and the most impressive one on the disc, the title tune "Once Upon Our Yesterdays". This review would have been 4½ out of 5 if it hadn't been for one bad song, and in my opinion this album is the best Cornerstone disc thus far.
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Claus
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COURAGEOUS
"Inertia" (Mausoleum Records - provided by TMC Nordic) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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An interesting new German band is here releasing their debut album on Mausoleum Records. Unfortunately I think the band made the wrong choice of signing with them, as Mausoleum doesn't have the "pull" to bring a band like Courageous forward. Too bad since this is one of the better debut albums I've heard recently. Musically we're talking about a band somewhere between Nevermore, Nevermore and Nevermore … ok, not really … there are elements of groove/thrash (think Machine Head), some melodic death metal (think Arch Enemy) and even power metal (think Vicious Rumors), but the main ingredient in the blend is Nevermore … and lots of it. With good melodies, great rhythm work and very interesting solo'ing, the album is only let down by two factors: little originality and a singer that's not 100% on top of his game. Get these issues fixed and Courageous is on the way to better things.
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Claus
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CRADLE OF FILTH
"Thornography" (Roadrunner - provided by Bonnier/Amigo) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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This has got to be the first COF album I've liked since "Cruelty And The Beast" (1998) and to be honest, "Cruelty…" wasn't nearly as good as the first 3 releases ("Principle Of Evil Made Flesh" 1994, "Vempire" 1996 and most importantly "Dusk And Her Embrace" 1996). Perhaps I've lost most of my interest in black metal along the way, and only occasionally comes along a disc within this genre that I like. Now with "Thornography" I'm actually finding myself digging this much much more than I would have thought. Perhaps it has to do with how extremely well-composed the entire album is, or how enourmous the production-value is. Perhaps it just has something to do with me being in a state of mind, where a bit of vampyric black metal fits my mood. Or perhaps it has to do with the fact that "Thornography" in so many ways reminds me of one of my favorite albums of all-time; Sabbat's "Dreamweaver". Just as the British thrash metal band back in 1989 delivered an album full of intricate songs backed by an evil pagan spirit, so does "Thornography" bring us COF-2006 from their yet most pagan side, which is evident in both the romatic classical pieces here and there (listen to the instrumental "Rise Of The Pentagram"), the almost folk-like riffing in some of the tunes, or the way that the melodies this time takes the forefront hand-in-hand with the lyrics. Dani, the vocalist who single-handedly has taken it upon himself to become a pop-icon for the black metal movement, has never sounded this good - he spits out the words with a power that would have made Sabbat's Martin Walkyier proud, and he even manages to make the lyrics "listenable" (something which very few black metal vocalists do). Some of the songs could have been "Dreamweaver part 2" - just listen to "The Foetus OF A New Day Kicking" or "Tonight In Flames" - there's so much Sabbat to these songs, that I'm sure Andy Sneap (who used to play guitar and write the songs in Sabbat) must have been smiling happily in the studio when mixing this album. Oh yeah, we also can't ignore the fact that there's a heavy King Diamond-vibe to a few of the tunes … but then again, it's not the first time that has been present in the music of COF. My only beef with the disc, and the reason I'm not giving it the 5 point rating it perhaps do warrant, is the overlong playing time - 65 minutes is a lot for such an intense disc, and the band would have done themselves a favour had they narrowed it down to only 50-55 minutes. That said, COF has with "Thornography" made their perhaps best disc ever, and for sure a disc I'll find myself going back to again and again in the next couple of years.
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Claus
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CREOZOTH
“Creozoth” (Escapi Music – provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points – |
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It’s always interesting to see or hear a side-project of one of the guys in such a band as Candlemass, since it’s an established fact that these guys aren’t the songwriters in their main-band. In Candlemass the sole songwriter is bassist Leif Edling, so with Creozoth we get to hear what Lasse (guitars) and Janne (drums) can come up with on their own. Okay, we’ve heard that before, when they did the Zoic disc many years ago (together with fellow-Candlemass guitarist Mappe), but Creozoth is however still a new venture for these guys. Together with bassist Torbjörn (from Oz) and singer Michael (X-Plode), the Swedish doomsters opt for a more rock-based sound than with Candlemass. I’d probably describe this as Trouble meets Candlemass meets Metal Church. In other words; a slab of heavy doom rock with lots of metal influences. Not bad at all and the melodies are really everywhere. My biggest beef with it is the production (although probably suitable for the music according to the producer, which happen to be Lasse himself) which is more akin to an 80’s release than a 2005 release.
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Claus
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CRISES
"Balance" (Progman Records - provided by Progman Records) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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I honestly don't know much about this band, except they did one album, "Broken Glass" some years ago through VMMS Records (a now defunct label). I have that disc, but it was really too "light-weight" for my taste - you know, the kind of stuff that aren't really progressive metal, but is also too heavy to be prog-rock. That's 6 or 7 years ago, and things have moved fast within this style - bands are now either heavy as a train moving at high speed or light as a feather. Not many bands nowadays are able to make the genres cross-over very well, but with the new disc "Balance", Crises actually succeeds quite nicely. Musically we're talking about a band somewhere between Vanden Plas and Magellan - progressive metal with symphonic and laid back moments. Nice vocals, perfect production, atmospheric keyboards and an overall good sense of melody makes "Balance" a strong disc, and definitely a great debut for the new label Progman Records (you can contact the label through crimsonglory3391@aol.com).
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Claus
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CRONIAN
"Terra" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Sometimes I'm really happy about the fact that it takes me forever to get around to write a review, because my first instincts on this album was to throw a pure 5-rating at it. I immediately fell in love with this weird sonic landscape produced by Mr. V (Vintersorg) and Øystein Brun (Borknagar), as it fitted my mood at that time with it's extremely cold avantgardistic mixture of progressive rock and black metal. However, after having had the album on constant replay on my MP3-player and listening to it every morning, I'm beginning to loose interest in it, and actually find myself rather jumping forward to Mr. V's Vintersorg albums, which is just a little tad more interesting. Nothing wrong with "Terra", but somehow I don't really understand why these 2 guys needed to do a project that sounds this much like their own bands, instead of trying something "out-of-the-ordinary" … hmmm, well - neverthless, it's a really strong disc, but it just didn't have the lifespan I had hoped for.
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Claus
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CROSSFADE "White On Blue" (MTM Music - provided by Target Distribution) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Melodic WestCoast/AOR rock is what the Scandinavian band Crossfade presents on their debut album "White On Blue". Imagine Toto, Mr.Mister, Alias and Michael Bolton teaming up to deliver a disc of new music, and the outcome is Crossfade! With Göran Edman on vocals (ex-Malmsteen, Street Talk etc) plus the two borthers Sven and Per Lindvall on bass and drums (both having played with A-HA) you know that it's quality, and to be honest I can't really say anything bad about the disc - on the other hand, there's not anything exciting to say about it, and all in all it's just not music I personally like. So, since it ain't metal, and it is too boring for me, I'm probably gonna end up giving it a 2 out of 5 grade - just don't expect me to listen much more to the album.
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Claus
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CRYONIC TEMPLE
"In Thy Power" (LMP/SPV - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Cool to begin the album with a lead melody, where the first note is out of tune!! I can live with that; coz the rest of the melody is nice and pleasant. Then comes a lead singer that sounds like Hansi Kürsch with a potato in his mouth, and who is out of tune constantly. We're talking hero metal here, and it is with all the cliché's available - the so called bobti bobti drumming, the string pumping as verses on the guitars instead of creating riffs (obviously too hard to do for some bands), the usual 4 chords for the chorus, so you make it easier for any lead singer to sing upon, the usual twin guitars and for Cryonic Temple, a lead singer that just sounds a bit too much under pressure. He actually has a pretty good voice, but I just don't find him suitable for this cliché music. To top it all, comes the horrible lyrics. Listen to these song titles: "When Hell Freezes Over", "Beast Slayer", "Wolfcry" and "Eternal Flames Of Metal"….! I guess it says it all. Listen to Iron Maiden, Helloween or Stratovarius instead, as these bands do it much better. However, if you insist on checking bands out that sound like the ones I just mentioned, then Cryonic Temple is your type of metal.
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Lars
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CRYSTAL BALL "Hellvetia" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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CRYSTAL BALL (CB) is back with their second Nuclear Blast-album "Hellvetia". This is without any doubt just as boring as they debut album, there is no sparkle in the music! Everything in this album seem to be a cliché from the 80's just without the famous SEX, DRUG and ROCK N' ROLL which is a shame as that was the sign of the 80's Hard Rock scene. Nevertheless I can trace some "WHITE LION" influences especially on the track "Pictures of Love" but no matter how hard they try to be inspired of any bands they still have the amazing ability of destroying everything! This is without any doubt the must tamed Hard Rock release of the year. I'm still waiting for the yeaahaa "Let's roll boy's" or at least something in that style. CB actually did a better job on their debut album, back on that album they had a more laid back attitude compared to "Hellvetia". There are of course a few exiting moments on this album, where the bands shows what they're cabable of! But unfortunately for us listeners this is only occasionally.
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Benjamin
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CRYSTAL BALL
"Time Walker" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Well I do not know how to describe this fatal mistake by Nuclear Blast, but one thing is for sure, that they certainly are betting on a lot of horses... And if this one ever reaches the finish line is the million dollars question. Well to be honest this album is not as bad as the "Hellvetia" disc, but it definitely do not have to be praised to the skies. One thing that annoys me on this record is the singer; he clearly has the tendency to spoil all that is good on this album. The rest of the musicians do what they have to do, but surely also without overdoing things, which is good in some ways, and bad in others. But back to the music, Crystal Ball has become more straightforward Heavy Metal than the Hard Rock attitude that they had on the 2 previous albums. This is clearly a benefit for us listeners, as is suits them better.
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Benjamin
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CYDONIA "The Dark Flower" (Metal Blade - provided by Nordic Metal) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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Cydonia is back with their 2nd album "The Dark Flower" and a lot of changes have been made since their debut album. Their debut album was a conceptual record, and their second album "The Dark Flower" is no exception. With their new album, Cydonia has created a daring but yet a new wave of Heavy Metal the album is a cross over of various genre of Metal such as; Bay Area Trash, Power Metal blended with a touch of Nu Metal. I know that this sounds like a strange cocktail, but this is the closest I can get to describe their kind of Metal. The Nu Metallic parts are the computer generates sounds, the Power Metal is the superb voice of Dan Keying mixed together with the fast guitar parts, the Bay Area Trash parts is easy recognisable with the open power chords. Besides being revolution within the genre of Metal there has been a few line up changes Stefan Ray (drummer) and Pete Daniels (rhythm guitar) are the new faces in Cydonia. This raw dynamic and listen able album has to be heard with your own ears in order to open the universe of the new wave within Heavy Metal this is without any doubt one of the best released in the year of 2003. For more information regarding the concept of the album please read the interview to come!
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Benjamin
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